Fugitive Prince

Fugitive Prince

By March Madness

Suddenly the boy's heart's missed a beat. On the off hind heel there was a white spot. It was no bigger than an almond, but it was there! The white spot--the emblem of swiftness! --

"The wheat ear!" Signor Achmet's voice broke. "It foretells evil. The droning of the bittern last night warned me. The yellow-eyed owl warned me. Ill luck will attend the colt's days. Ill luck will hang low over the royal stables."

His eyes fixed on the foal's chest, he got slowly to his feet, drawing the saber at his belt.

Agba smothered a cry. Unmindful of his own safety, he thrust himself between Signor Achmet and the foal. He fell to his knees, lifting the tiny foal whose legs beat a tattoo in the air. With a look of triumph, he pointed at the white spot on the off hind heel.

Signor Achmet's eyes narrowed. His brows came together in a black line. Agba could see him weighing the two in his mind--the white spot against the wheat ear. The good sign against the bad. The scales tipped even.

King of the Wind

, Marguerite Henry

Chapter IX

Leo was outside playing, flying as high as he dared on his broom and mentally daring himself to fly higher, when he heard the shouts. With a sigh, he floated back down to a reasonable height, wanting to go see what the matter was about but really already knowing.

Harry was fighting with Sirius again. If Leo went anywhere close to the two, Harry would simply walk away even if he were in the middle of a sentence or winning the argument. His big brother was weird like that, preferring to just walk away than to fighting in Leo's sight.

Leo even knew what the argument was about : summer was almost over, so another term of Hogwarts was about to start and it would be yet another year that Harry refused to go.

Leo leaned down on his broom, letting one leg swing beneath the rest of him while he absently took out a ball and threw it in the air, catching it on its way down and repeating the motion over and over again, subconsciously increasing his reflex speed while consciously passing the time, counting down the minutes before Harry got to be too much and Sirius tried to punish him.

Remus was out, so there was really no way to stop the conflict from escalating. The shouting got louder and, from the snippets Leo could catch, more vicious. When Harry wanted to, he could belittle even Remus to a rage.

Finally, the front door slammed open, just as Leo knew it would, and he swung up on his broom to see his brother storming towards him but as Harry got closer, he lost his anger. "You should stop yelling," Leo chided, waving a finger.

Harry paused. "You heard?" Leo rolled his eyes like the answer was obvious. "Sorry, Leo."

"It's a'right," Leo excused him with a wave. "Play with me?"

"Play?" Leo nodded so Harry summoned his broom from the garage and flew up in the air. "Sure. What are you going to be this time?"

"Catcher!" Leo announced wildly throwing his arms in the air.

Harry smiled. "You mean 'keeper?'" With a shrug, Leo nodded. "Alright, but I'm not going to go easy on you, even if you are my little brother."

"Course!"

Harry was dark and mysterious to Leo, the perfect image of a big brother. His skin was tanned to a golden brown from hours spent outside and his hair was about as tamed as he was, meaning that a lion tamer would be afraid to approach either.. Sometimes, Harry would let Leo join him on his adventures outside but whenever he did, Leo got the dampening feeling that Harry purposely took him to the safer parts of the nearby forests.

Maybe it was because of how Leo looked: where Harry got mum's eyes, green and glittery, Leo got dad's golden eyes that shined like a million suns when he really wanted something. Where Harry's skin was tough and tanned well like dad's, Leo's was fair, pale like mum's had been. Uncle Sirius often said that he looked like Lily passed as many genes along to him to get back at Harry looking like James. Even Leo's hair was far different from Harry's dark locks; a mix of dad's deep black and mum's dark red, Leo's hair had managed to turn out with very light brown coloring, a shade that threatened to lighten even more as time passed and transform into a nice blond.

"Try to block this," Harry shouted, hundreds of feet in the air on his shining broom as he tossed the Quaffle towards the rings behind Leo, much softer than Leo knew he was capable of.

Leo snorted and easily deflected the ball, sending it spiraling to the right to make Harry dive down if he wanted to catch it. Harry seemed to drop from the air, catching said ball feet from the ground in a dangerous maneuver that Leo loved making him do. "Someday, I'm going to do that," he called out.

"Someday, you're going to get me killed," was the reply as the Quaffle was sent flying towards him again.

Leo never asked Harry why he spent so much time outside; it only seemed natural. Neither did he ask why Harry often sneaked outside, hours after their uncles had gone to sleep, just to look outside. The only reason Leo really knew he did it was because the window often let in a cool breath, waking him up.

There were also the times when Harry had the worst dreams. Leo sometimes had dreams like that, dreams of people screaming and lights flashing, but they were rare and muted, especially compared to what Harry went through. Once, Leo asked Harry what was wrong.

"Nothing," Harry replied quickly but Leo could tell his brother was lying.

"Tell me," he urged, smiling insanely at the possibility of being told a secret, being told something that Uncle Remus didn't know, that Uncle Sirius didn't know.

Harry ran a hand through his black hair and looked torn between telling his brother and keeping his secret. "Alright, but you have to promise not to tell anyone."

Leo grinned wider. He could get Harry to do

anything! "I promise," he promised with a sincerity that could be forgotten when the opportunity arose. "No one else."

"Sometimes... sometimes I have really bad dreams," Harry said after a moment. "Really bad."

"Nightmares?"

Harry shook his head. "Worse than nightmares." Leo shivered at his tone and Harry immediately straightened. "Maybe I'll tell you later. When you're older."

"But Harry," Leo tugged at his shirt. "That's not fair. You said you're tell me

now!"

"But you're not ready now," Harry countered softly. "You'll get scared and I don't want you to get scared. Do you?" Leo shivered again at the fierce truthfulness in his brother's face and sighed, giving in.

"Alright, but you better tell me later!"

Harry smiled and ruffled his hair. "Sure. I promise."

Leo really could get Harry to do anything he wanted. Like the time, when he was only four and had wanted to go flying, Harry took him up even after Uncle Sirius told him not to. Harry had gotten in lots of trouble for him, but he never complained.

Harry's time in the woods had given him his tanned skin, his quiet but forceful attitude, and had also gotten rid of all the baby fat that still cursed Leo's seven-year old body. Where Harry was tall and lean, Leo was still slightly chubby but in such a way that he was considered "absolutely adorable." Or at least that's what the newspapers thought.

He was adorable, sure, but everyone thought Harry was beautiful. That's what the newspapers said.

Leo felt a spark of jealousy. Everyone liked Harry better. He was so good in magic that he didn't even have to go to school--well, that was Leo's own fault but he wasn't about to admit that. With those thoughts in mind, Leo swung the broom around and sent it flying across the great backyard with a slamming move much more powerful than necessary.

Harry gave a cry and dropped from the sky, barely dodging the flying Quaffle. Immediately, Leo felt a wave of shame but ignored the thought. Harry wouldn't get mad at him. Harry was never mad at him. Besides, the papers said that he was supposed to be powerful. If Harry asked, he'd say it was an accident. But Harry would never ask, Harry loved him more than he loved anyone else.

Sure enough, Harry didn't say a word but his face was slightly troubled as he returned the Quaffle, going much softer than ever before and Leo couldn't hide his shame. Harry was probably trying to figure out what he'd done wrong, what he'd done to get Leo so angry. Harry always thought it was his fault, never Leo's, even when Leo specifically set him up to take the fall.

"Sorry," he yelled out. "My fault."

"You probably thought I could get it," Harry answered, instantly excusing Leo. "And I should have."

"Leo, did you spill your milk?"

"No, Harry did."

"But Leo," Sirius replied patiently, "Harry's outside."

"Ask him," Leo demanded. "He spilled it, I saw him!"

Sirius sighed but called Harry in. "Harry! Harry, could you come in here?"

Harry came in dutifully, clutching his broom. "Yes?"

Sirius sent a look to Leo, who had started feeling a bit guilty. Harry would rat on him for sure! "Harry, did you spill this milk?"

Harry glanced down at the floor to the glass of milk lying spilt beside Leo's leg and without a moment's hesitation answered, "Yes, I did."

"What?"

"Sirius, let him be," Remus ordered from across the room, reading the paper.

"No, Remus. I'm not going to let Harry take the blame for everything." Sirius looked straight at Harry and repeated, "Harry, did you spill this milk? And don't lie to me because I know you didn't."

"But I did," Harry protested.

Sirius shook his head and glanced at Leo. "Fine. Since you spilled the milk magically--because there's no other way you could have done it--you're grounded from using magic for a week."

"But Uncle Sirius, Harry was going to show me magic tonight," Leo reminded from the floor. "He

has to use magic!"

"Well, if you admit that you spilled the milk, then Harry won't get punished," Sirius replied airily, looking back and forth between Leo and Harry. Harry didn't reply, not willing to turn on his brother.

"I-"

"Fine," Harry cut Leo's confession off. "I won't use magic for a week." He took up the punishment without protest and looked down at Leo. "Uncle Remus can show you magic tonight, alright?" Leo nodded and Harry started towards the door when Sirius stopped him.

"Harry, flying requires magic, does it not?" He held out his hand for the broom and Harry looked upset for the first time.

"But that's not fair," he protested. "I'm not consciously using magic-"

"But you are using magic," Sirius stated, looking at Leo.

Leo knew that this wasn't really a punishment for Harry--it was for him. He knew how much Harry loved to fly and now Sirius was going to take it away just because Harry was taking the punishment for him. For a second time, he opened his mouth to confess but again Harry stopped him.

"Fine," Harry repeated much more forcefully, keeping his anger down in the face of his brother. He threw the broom to the ground and walked outside again where he could vent his anger out of Leo's sight.

"That wasn't fair," Remus admonished.

Sirius sighed and sank into a sofa. "I know it wasn't, but Harry has to learn that if he keeps this up, keeps taking the blame for Leo, he's going to get punished. I wouldn't have punished Leo if he'd only said he spilt his milk. Now Harry's out there hating me again."

Leo went back to playing with his toys, trying to block out his uncle's voice. But his hands shook.

"I bet you can't make a goal at all!" Leo bragged, knowing that those words would ensure that exact victory.

Harry smiled from his distance and for a moment, Leo was struck, seeing another image superimposed over his brother. The other Harry looked exactly like his Harry did, but he wore glasses.

Harry had gotten rid of his glasses back when Leo was going through his terrible twos--or rather, Leo had gotten rid of them for him. Remus always laughed when he told the tale.

"Harry's glasses?" the werewolf repeated and Leo nodded so hard that his hair did a little dance. "Don't you remember?"

"'Member wha?"

"Here." Remus lead him to the old dresser full of his baby things; pictures, books, bottles, diapers, even toys too broken or old for him to play with anymore. "Let's see here..." Remus fished through the various items, digging out something to toss it right back. After a minute, he smiled success and pulled out an old frame of glasses, dusty, scratched, and utterly recognizable. "These what you looking for?"

"Glasses!" Leo squealed, grabbing at them.

Remus chuckled. "You don't remember but one night, when your teeth were coming in-"

"Buh Unk Remus, my tooth are a'ready in," Leo cut in, opening his mouth wide to show off his pearly teeth.

"I know, but not too long ago, you didn't have teeth."

"No!" Leo was aghast. No teeth? "How'da eat?"

"You drank a bottle and ate that baby food junk," Remus replied with a laugh at the face Leo made. "Tasted nasty but then again you really didn't care. So anyway, when you were getting your teeth one night, you were in such terrible pain that you wouldn't shut up. Nothing we did could get you to quiet down. Finally, Harry whips his glasses off his head and gives 'em to you, and you know what you did?"

"Wha?" Leo asked, fascinated by the story.

"You broke 'em!" Remus leaned back on his elbows and laughed. "Hardly held them for a second before they broke. Course, Harry fixed them up right away and I guess you were so surprised to see them fixed that you went right to bed. Wouldn't let go of them for nearly a month."

"Hawy doesn't need glasses?" Leo asked, frowning as he remembered a time when Harry couldn't do without them.

"Well, of course he needed them silly," Remus replied with a smile. "But since you wouldn't give them back, he just went without... them..." He frowned. "But, I would think that he'd take them back or at least get new ones."

Leo fingered the glasses, memories flowing into his mind.

Remus stood in deep thought. "Come to think of it, neither of us really noticed..." He walked off, hand on his chin, nearly bumping into a dresser but it hopped out of the way, its mirror telling him off.

No one had been able to pry Harry's secret out of him to find out exactly how he did without the glasses but eventually they realized that either A.) Harry was walking around half-blind and was simply used to it or B.) Harry's vision had miraculously (magically) fixed itself.

The Quaffle was heading his way and Leo realized that he was in the exact position to deflect this shot. His body was ready, his hands perfect--all that he need was to hit the ball when it came close enough. And when he realized it, Leo felt like laughing.

Harry had thrown it imperfectly and now Leo could hit it perfectly. Harry was like that. Maybe it was because the papers said that Leo was going to be the next Dumbledore, the next savior of the world--and had, in fact, already saved it from an evil wizard not too many years ago.

With a grin, Leo swung his broom out, hitting the Quaffle and watching it sail across the sky, watching Harry race after it. He needn't ever be jealous of Harry, he thought to himself, because Harry was always going to be second best, and probably already knew it. He needn't ever be jealous or spiteful towards Harry, because as far as Leo was concerned, Harry was just another of the many people who'd serve him when he came to power.

And when he did, he'd enjoy it.

*

Remus came home to find the boys playing outside and could almost imagine a happy family situation. He waved to them and they waved back. Now all he needed was the petite wife who'd welcome him home each evening with a kiss and a warm dinner cooking.

What he got... a best friend storming around the kitchen after yet another fight with the oldest of the boys, burning the food and smoking up the kitchen. Of course, the house elves were trying to distract him as they fixed the food so dinner would be no problem but the point was that Sirius was fuming.

Remus sighed. "You know," he said, tossing his coat on the floor where the Ministry-provided house elves hurriedly cleaned it up, "I can't wait 'til you get married and move out."

"Me?" Sirius snorted. "Not I. I plan on being one of those fabulously rich bachelors that own half the world and claim dibs on the other half."

"Really?" Remus raised an eyebrow. "Any reason why?"

"Because I swore to, as a Marauder," Sirius replied huffily, "and I keep my promises. Besides, if I do get married, I'll take my wife down to the doctor--against her will, if I must--and make sure that we never, never, never have kids!"

"Oh, another fight with Harry?"

Sirius neatly slammed the fridge door shut and glared at Remus.

Remus rolled his eyes. "O-kaa... I see that was a rather obvious answer..."

"I swear, that kid's trying to drive me crazy," the other man stormed but Remus could sense a deep hurt in his friend's voice. "I mean, all I want is for him to loosen up some, you know? Stop being so uptight."

"Well what did you expect?" Remus asked with a tight smile. "An exact copy of James? Troublemaker, prankster, and altogether joker? He's not like James, Sirius. James never had to go through what Harry does, never had to go through life without parents and with the burden of a younger brother--a responsibility Harry takes very seriously."

"I know. It's just that... Sometimes, with the way he acts, I feel like I'm some sort of stranger in a house he's visiting; he tiptoes around me like he thinks I'm going to go ballistic on him. And whenever I get called out to catch some wanna-be dark wizard, he avoids me for days."

"You get called again?" Remus asked, changing the subject.

"Nah, but Figg warned that's something stirring in the old Death Eater department. Remember the Mark appearing at the World Cup?"

Remus shivered. How could he not? At the beginning of the summer last, someone stole one of the Weasley kid's wand and called up the infamous Dark Mark over the skies during an insane night that evoked memories of the war. The kid had been taken in for questioning and after taking some truth serum, had been released as innocent.

"Dumbledore's even keeping in old Mad-Eye to teach the kids over at Hogwarts, even after all those complaints last year."

"Mad-Eye again? For two years? The poor kids!" Remus laughed but Sirius scowled.

"And Harry refuses to go. This is supposed to be his fifth year, but he still doesn't want to go."

"You can't very well blame him for that," Remus said, sipping at the cup of tea one house elf gave him. "Remember what happened in '91?"

"Dumbledore caught Quirrel and they locked him up in Azkaban!"

"'93?"

Sirius paused at this. "Now, that was a little close to home-"

"A lot closer to home," Remus corrected. "Peter was almost caught, too. Too bad. But I give him a few more years before he fudges up. And what about last year? That Diggory kid almost died facing down those dragons-"

"If Harry had gone, he'd have been in no danger whatsoever," Sirius replied. "Only the champions had to face down those dragons and Harry was too young to be a champion. Anyway, there were healers aplenty to heal him."

"The point is that there have been things going on at Hogwarts," Remus pointed out. "It's undeniably. Harry might feel safer here than some school with all these happenings going on. You know he's never gotten over James's death."

They paused at that and, doggedly, Sirius had to nod his head in acceptance. "But he's not scared to go Hogwarts," Sirius pointed out. "The only reason he's not going is because Leo doesn't want him to."

"True."

"So the only way to get Harry to Hogwarts is through Leo."

Remus shook his head. "You know that's not going to work, Sirius. It hasn't worked since '91, when Leo first told Harry he didn't want Harry to go to Hogwarts. Leo's afraid of being left behind, and what Leo wants... Harry gets him."

"Damnit, Remus, why don't you see anything wrong with that?"

"Oh, I do." Remus took another sip of his tea. "But the last thing I want is to remove Harry's trust in me. The last time I tried to force him to talk to me, to listen to me, he went as cold on me as he is on you and..." his hands shook, "I can't deal with that."

"I know. But every time I look at Harry, so sad and quiet, I can feel James looking down on me, asking me why Harry's so quiet, so unhappy, and I can't answer him." Sirius sat down at the table and shook his head. "It hurts to have him push me away, Remus, have him constantly telling me that he doesn't want me around. But it hurts worse when I feel James right beside me, asking me what I did to his son."

*

Daily Prophet Updates on the Prophesied Son Recent rumors that the prophesied savior of the magical world had died are all false. Indeed, Leonard Torrent Potter is doing quite well, getting a head start on his future classmate for his Hogwarts education, writes Prophet reporter Rita Skeeter. His guardians, Sirius Black (Auror) and Remus Lupin (free-lance slayer) have dragged out their old school books and have started teaching him the basics of spell-pronunciation. And, in the opinion of this reporter, the future savior has his sounds out right. Ever since the so-called "Stag and Flower" Prophecy, written by the famed seer Aberforth (brother of Albus Dumbledore) was leaked to the Prophet a few years ago, our reporters have been bringing information for the inquiring ears of the wizarding public concerning their future sovereign. The Stag and Flower tells us that a "second son" will be born to a pair of parents who, while we can't give exact details, match perfectly with the descriptions of the late James and Lily Potter. For those skeptics out there, information from captured Death Eaters tell us that not only did You-Know-Who believe this prophecy, but he believed it enough to send a squad out to constantly watch the Potters, waiting for the birth of their second son. And it was also while facing young Leonard that You-Know-Who met his downfall...

The article abruptly went on to summarize every major event of Leo's life, starting from about age one--the age the Prophet found out all about the prophecy. It also added an exact copy of the prophecy as well as listing the many "steps" the Prophet went through, glamorizing itself to the point of self-worship.

"Buzzards," Remus muttered as read the paper, a dozen or so minutes after his "talk" with Sirius. "That's all they are. Floating around, keeping an ear out to see what's hot and then swooping down in for the kill, the animals." On the front cover of the paper, right next to the article was a picture of Leo, obviously in the middle of a game with someone just beyond the picture's edge. Harry had been cut out.

"'Keeping an eye on the future savior'?" Sirius snorted. "More like 'stalking' Leo since that Death Eater let it slip why Voldemort was so interested in the Potters."

"Who was it anyway?" Remus asked. "Nott?"

"Nott."

"Hmm. He was pretty dull back in our years at Hogwarts."

"I wonder who leaked out the prophecy to the dark side in the first place," Sirius murmured to himself. "If I knew, I'd-"

"Not like we can complain. After all, ever since the Prophet came out with their first article, and ever since everyone started believing it like the crazed population they are, the Ministry's been providing for our every need." Remus took a bit out of his apple. "Only for an interview a month."

"You make it sound like we're renting the kid out."

Remus choked on the apple and glared at the grinning Sirius. "You know very well that Leo loves the attention! But sometimes... sometimes I think that all this fame's going to his head."

"Ya think?" came the sarcastic reply. Sirius glanced outside and straightened up. "I'm going in!"

"You act like talking with Harry's a battle." Sirius smiled cheekily before flipping Remus off and heading outside. Harry looked down at his godfather and visibly tensed. He threw the Quaffle over to Leo, saying something that Sirius couldn't hear, and headed down, touching to the grass.

"Yes?"

"Remus is back."

"I know."

"He wants to talk to you."

"What about?"

Sirius exhaled and raised his hands in defeat. "I don't know. Why don't you just go inside and find out?" Leo floated down, touching his feet to the ground in slight hesitation, dropping the Quaffle onto the grass.

Harry looked at his brother and mouth the four-letter word Sirius had grown to hate. "Fine." He Banished the broom back to the shed with a motion of his hand and headed into the house, not noticing the astonished look on his godfather's face.

Sirius turned to Leo. "Did he just do that without a wand?"

"Opps," Leo rolled his eyes. "You weren't supposed ta know 'bout that."

"Is there anything else I should know about Harry?" Sirius felt the slightest stirrings of panic. He'd been living with the boy for four years. He should know everything already!

"Uh..."

"Leo?"

"No!" Leo denied vehemently but it sounded like a lie. Sirius let it pass--for the moment.

"Listen Leo, we really need to talk." Sirius sat down on the dot grass and patted the area beside him. Leo took a seat.

"Bout what?"

"Well..." Sirius took a deep breath. "You know how much Uncle Remus and I talk about Hogwarts?"

"Harry doesn't want to go-"

"No, not about sending Harry. About when we went there, how much fun we had, how many friends we played with." Leo nodded, smiling, probably thinking about how he couldn't wait to get to Hogwarts. "And I always say that they were the best years of my life, right?" Another nod. "Well, we really want Harry to go." Leo's smile faded. "You see, we had so much fun, we just don't want Harry to miss out on anymore. I mean, he's already missed a couple years already."

"But I don't want Harry to leave-"

"Why not?"

"Because... because Harry makes the people go away when I'm tired or when I don't want to talk anymore."

'People? Right, reporters.' "We can keep them away," Sirius said, aware that he was pleading with a seven-year old.

But Leo shook his head. "I'll miss him. And I don't want him to go away."

"But Harry's missing out on his friends and his adventures. Why don't you let him go play with some kids his own age?" Leo's face clouded up. "Besides, Harry gets lonely here sometimes, I'm sure. There's only you, me, Remus-"

Leo shook his head again. "Not uh," he denied. "Harry said he'll never leave me, and he says he doesn't care whether he goes or stays because he only wants me to be happy. And he says he doesn't even need to go to school. He said that!" The child was getting hysterical now. "H-he said he'd never leave me-"

"Shh. Leo, Harry won't be leaving you-"

"Yes he will-"

"No, no. Sirius picked Leo up and held him in a hug as the child began to cry. "Harry just needs to get away. You see how he is here: he's always quiet and he's always sad. You don't want Harry to be sad, do you?"

"N-no." Leo sniffed. "But he said he doesn't need to go to school. He said mum already taught him everything."

"Oh really?" Leo nodded fiercely. "Does he know magic? I know he knows a little, but does he know a lot?"

"Yea, Harry knows everything," Leo claimed.

"Oh really?" Sirius raised an eyebrow and turned Leo around to face him, to better judge whether the kid was lying. "What kind of stuff?"

"Everything!" Leo repeated, wiping at his eyes. "He, he makes sure I don't fall and if I get scared, he makes it light. H-he can disappear and reappear--he cheats a lot when we play tag. And once, he talked to his big snake but I didn't like it and told him to make it go away and he did, Uncle Sirius! He kept his promise and he promised not to leave me!"

"R-really?" Leo nodded and Sirius swore the child wasn't lying.

"And he's always playing with me and doing what I want and making things and changing into things and-"

"Changing into things? What kind of things?"

"Animals! See! Harry doesn't need to go to school." Leo threw himself into Sirius's chest. "Don't make him go."

"Wait, what kind of animals."

"Whatever I want," Leo said proudly, buried against Sirius's chest. "He does whatever I want and I don't want him to go away, ever."

"Leo, Harry's, Harry's not your slave," Sirius chided faintly, mind spinning. "He isn't here just to make you happy."

At that moment, the front door opened and Harry came back out, looking mildly suspicious. "Remus said he didn't want to talk to me," he said simply.

"Harry, Uncle Sirius wants you to go to Hogwarts but I don't want you to and he says you have to and he doesn't believe me. Tell him you don't have to go, tell him because he won't believe me," Leo pleaded, getting up from Sirius to cling to Harry's legs with teary eyes.

"He won't believe you?" Harry repeated, looking up from the crying Leo to Sirius, locking eyes with his godfather.

Leo nodded. "He keeps asking me questions but won't believe me but you don't need to go, do you?"

"Questions?"

Leo nodded again then looked up. "Harry, you don't want to go, do you?"

"Of course Harry wants to go," Sirius said, standing up. "In fact, not only does Harry want to go, but he needs to go."

Harry stiffened but didn't say anything, aware of his brother watching him and really not wanting to start a fight with hid godfather just then.

"Harry?"

He looked down into his brother's golden eyes. "If you want to send me away, I'll go."

Leo looked between Harry and Sirius and swallowed. "I-I don't want you to go," and Sirius's shoulders sagged. "But I don't want you to fight all the time."

"We're only fighting because Harry needs to go to Hogwarts, but you won't let him," Sirius stated, knowing that Harry wouldn't protest lest he start a fight where Leo could see.

"If you'll keep fighting then..." Leo took a deep breath. "Then you should go to Hogwarts."

Sirius's heart jumped and he bit down a smile at the expression on Harry's face. Harry went silent then gave a quick nod and headed back inside, stealing Sirius's victory away. "You should get inside, Leo," Harry called over his shoulder. "It's getting dark." Leo rolled his eyes, wiping the tears from them, but trudged inside.

Leaving Sirius thinking that, perhaps, Harry made a much better parent than he did. Then he nearly ran inside to write an owl to the anxious Dumbledore and share with both the headmaster and the werewolf inside everything he'd learned.